Donuts and Lent

I love donuts.

I mean, dang, I love donuts.

I am Gollum, and that ring of sugared splendor is My Precious.

This morning before church I reached my hand into a box of donuts. I pulled one out and tore it in half, telling myself that I wouldn’t eat a whole donut…all at once.

It’s not a coincidence that half a donut shares the same U-shape as a magnet, the two poles drawing you in with her invisible force.

Lent begins this Wednesday. Lent is most commonly thought of as a season of giving something up. But more truly, it’s a season to repent and return. To reorder priorities.

God. Family. Donuts.

In this upcoming season of Lent, I want to draw closer to God. There are areas of my life in which I need to repent. I need to confess sins. I need a change of perspective.  Fasting is abstaining from certain foods for a designated period of time, and it reminds me that Jesus is my sustaining Bread.

You have heard of Ode to Joy, right? Prior to giving up donuts for Lent, I wanted to write a brief Ode to Donuts (because, really, is there a difference between donuts and joy???).

Warning: I’m not a poet. If my rhymes feel forced, it’s because they are.

Donut, beautiful spark of divinity.
Daughter of leaven,
There is nothing Krispy nor Creamy,
In your hot, glazed glory,
In your Hot, Fresh, Now
Non-fiction story.

We are one, Braided Donut.
Not left out,
Entwined together, you and I.
You stick by me, mainly gut and thighs.

O, traditional Donut,
With the hole in your middle,
For me to fill what’s missing,
Sounds so simple.
Donut holes,
How did you come to be,
So easily eaten in threes?

This lenten season, seek God. Repent. Spend time on your knees. Lie prostrate, confessing sins.  Confess to whatever has magnetically pulled you away from Jesus.

And if somehow donuts stand in the way of your hunger for God, consider giving them up.